Back Then
by iheartbooks4ever
Summary: Contains MJ Spoilers!A collection of one-shots in Rory's point of view, alternating with a present-day Rory(17yrs old)and the Rory of the series(12/13 yrs old.)Mostly about his relationship with Prim through the books and him dealing with the loss of Prim(hence the POV of the 17yr.him) I had been up to six chapters, but I didn't like where the story was going so I started it over.
1. Prologue

**Okay, as you can see I made this chapter shorter than it used to be, the rest of it is now the first chapter, and this beginning part is well…. The beginning, the prologue, of the story/collection of one-shots. Just so you know, this is the only time a chapter will EVER be this short. I usually aim around 2,000 words for each chapter, but this is just a prologue, so it doesn't need to be super long :)**

Prologue:

Back then, everything was simple. In District 12 you live, you starve, you work in the mines and then, eventually you die. And if you were lucky you would escape being reaped for the Hunger Games.

If you were extremely lucky; you found someone to love, and that love would help you to get through the hard days. Now even something as small as getting dressed in the morning seems extremely complex.

My life means nothing to me anymore without Primrose Everdeen.

In case you haven't figured it out yet I'm Rory Hawthorne. Primrose Everdeen was the love of my life, my whole world. Now she's gone forever. She was killed in the bombings in the Capitol; my sweet flower was killed trying to help those innocent Capitol children.

My family and friends don't talk to me much anymore, simply because they don't know what to say. There's nothing they can say or anything they can do that will make this right.

Memories flash through my mind, Prim's dazzling blue eyes looking at me from across the room, her laugh that sounded like tinkling bells when I would tell her a joke.

Those were all happy memories. It hurts me to remember how happy I was with her though; it just reminds me how dead I am now, how dull my life is. They tell me it's good to remember what she was like, and what we did together.

As I approach her grave stone I run my fingers over the writing there, engraved in the stone. "_Primrose Everdeen, Beloved daughter and friend to everyone. Our angel on earth._" I laugh bitterly, now she's a real angel, up in heaven and she's never coming back. I place a bouquet of primroses underneath the headstone.

Of course there was no body to bury; she was vaporized completely from the intense heat of the bomb.

I run my hand over the stone again and try to remember her face. Every day it gets harder and harder to call her face to mind, but it's been 3 years, I'm surprised and very grateful that I haven't totally forgotten what she looked like. Her bright eyes and soft, silky hair, shinning like the halo of an angel. And then there's her lips, I'll never forget her soft, pink rosebud mouth, or the first time we kissed, the memory makes me smile, in spite of myself. It was at a party, a celebration; the Capitol threw for the District to celebrate the return of Katniss and Peeta.

I stand up and brush off some dirt from my pants and look at Prim's grave stone. "I love you Prim, and I wish you were here." I kiss the top of the headstone then without another word I turn and walk towards my small cabin. No, life will never be the same without her.

Maybe one day I'll be able to move on, well, at least that's what everyone says anyway. I just don't think it's possible.

I'll never love anyone as much as I loved Primrose Everdeen, the girl who danced away with my heart and took it forever.

**Thank you for your continued support! It is much appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 1

**I am slowly getting there… haha **** if the time jump confuses you guys too much just tell me and I suppose that I could put every other chapter in italics or bold to separate the two times. This chapter is basically the same as always, it just doesn't have the beginning that it used too.**

The First Kiss (End of the Hunger Games-Beginning of Catching Fire)

"Rory! Ma says to get your tail to the table if you want supper before we go!" My little sister Posy screams at the top of her lungs. I sigh and run my fingers through my hair, and look at my reflection in the cracked mirror that once was used by my father. I tuck my slightly stained blue shirt into my grey slacks and make my way to the table.

My two younger siblings, Vick and Posy are seated in their chairs, with their bowls in front of them, chatting animatedly about their day to my mother. Ma smooth's her apron and smiles warmly at me as I take my place at the table. Two of the chairs are empty, Gale's and my father's.

Even though dad's not here anymore we still keep his chair at the head of the table, my Ma wanted to take it and sell it, but we pleaded with her not to, so there the chair sits, never to be sat in again by my father.

I have no clue where Gale is, probably in the woods or with his friends, or messing around with some poor girl. He hasn't been the same ever since Katniss and Peeta came home after winning the 74th Hunger Games a couple months ago.

"Ah, there you are Rory! Just in time to eat." She says as she hands me a bowl of thin soup as she sits down. I smile at her,

"Thanks ma, it looks good." I pick up my spoon and eat my soup as fast as I can, ignoring the fact that it's burning my tongue and the roof of my mouth as it goes down. The soup is basically watered-down broth with some small chunks of meat and some kind of herb sprinkled in.

"Whoa there! Slow down some! You have plenty of time before the party starts." My mother scolds me. I ignore her and finish the soup. I look out the window and see people making their way to the square as darkness falls. I can't be late.

Tonight the Capitol is throwing us a big party, well not us specifically, but for the whole district to celebrate our new victors. There will be dancing and lots of food, so I don't know why ma insists on eating dinner before we go. Faintly, I hear music start playing, it sounds like a fiddle, and possibly a guitar. I bring my empty bowl to the small room we call a kitchen and drop it in the sink. I rush to the door and open it when I hear my ma's voice.

"Wait just a minute young man! You're not going _anywhere_ until you wash your hands and face and comb your hair!" I turn around and groan, and look at my ma, who is standing there with her hands on her hips, giving me the you-better-do-what-I-say-or-else look. I run to the hallway where we keep a basin and a pitcher full of water to wash with and groan again. The pitcher is empty.

"Ma! The pitcher's empty!"

"Then go fill it," comes the exasperated reply.

I don't have time to fill the pitcher! I sneak towards the door; Ma must read my thoughts,

"Rory Hawthorne! You are not going to the Square until you wash your hands and face! Now go fill that pitcher! It will only take a minute!" She yells from the kitchen. My younger siblings snicker,

"Ooh, Rory got told!" Vick crows and I shoot him a dirty look, he's gonna get it when I get home. Posy giggles and gets down from the table to go play with her doll. Vick sticks his tongue out at me.

"Shut up!" I growl as I go outside and slam the door behind me. I go to grab the bucket in front of the house, but it's not there. I gasp in disbelief, this can_not _be happening to me!

Not tonight! You might ask why it's so important for me to get to the party, well, it's because Primrose Everdeen will be there.

Beautiful, perfect, Primrose Everdeen. I made a bet with some kids at school; if I don't dance with Prim at least once then they get to eat my lunch for two days.

So it's not just because I'll go hungry for two days if I don't dance with her that I want to get to the party, it's because I want to dance with her. Prim is the girl of my dreams. Gale teases me about her all the time. Almost every day when I get home from school he'll ask if I asked her out yet.

I snap out of my thoughts, what was I looking for again? Oh right, the bucket. I dash back inside. "Ma!" I shout, "Where's the bucket!" Ma looks up from the sink,

"Oh! That's right! I lent it to the Everdeen's this morning! Prim stopped by and said their bucket had a hole. You'll have to go get it." My heart races, the Everdeen's have our bucket and _I _have to go get it. Maybe I'll see Prim, I think to myself as I dash out the front door again towards the Everdeen's house. It's almost completely dark outside now, as I run in the opposite direction of the Square the sound of people laughing fades along with the lively sound of music and dancing feet.

I got to get there before the party ends, I-

I run into someone, "Oh! I'm sorry! Here, let me help…" I pull the person up to their feet and I almost fall over. The person I knocked over, _into _the dirt is none other than Primrose Everdeen.

Wow, great going Rory.

She stands up and smiles at me as she brushes some dirt off a pretty soft-looking blue dress. "It's' okay, Rory." Prim says softly with a smile that lights up her eyes. I immediately start to blush and I try not to look at her.

Yup, that's _awesome _Rory, just be all awkward in front of Prim, great job buddy.

Prim looks at me expectantly, and I realize she's probably wondering why I was running away from the Square and not towards it.

"Uhh… I, I was um, going to your… house! Yeah! I was going to your house, to get a bucket that you borrowed from us, today." I finish lamely. I mentally smack myself in the head for sounding so stupid. Prim laughs and smiles at me again.

"Oh that's right!" Prim exclaims and her hands fly up to cover her mouth, she looks at me apologetically, "The bucket! I'm so sorry Rory, I had meant to return it before dinner but we had a little boy come in with a broken arm and I was helping mother. If you want you can come with me to go get it." She motions towards her home which is just a couple houses down. I smile shyly at her and we start walking down the road together.

We walk in silence and I wait outside while she runs inside to get it. When she comes back outside she smiles and hands me the bucket; my fingers brush up against hers as I wrap my hand around the handle and a shiver goes up my spine.

"Well, thanks for the bucket Prim! I'll see you at the party; I have to do something real quick!" I shout as I make a mad dash for the water pump. I groan in dismay when I reach the water pump, there's only like three or four in the whole Seam, and there are two or three people in front of me.

I don't have time to wait, or I'll miss the party!

I run towards the next closest pump but find that the handle has rusted and it won't move. I kick the stupid pump and immediately regret it,

"Ow! Ow, ow." I say grabbing my foot and hopping up and down. Determined, I scoop up my bucket and run to another pump, and thankfully, there's no one at this one. Quickly I fill the bucket up and I walk as quickly as I can towards home without spilling the water.

I sigh in relief when I reach home; I get ready to open the door when someone yells "Boo!"

I jump and half of the water sloshes on my shirt. "No!" I moan as Posy comes out from behind the house, with a guilty look on her face. Anger boils up in me; this is the only good shirt I have!

"Oh! I'm sorry Rory! I didn't mean to get you all wet! I just wanted to scare you! Please don't be mad." She says pleadingly and looks at me with those big gray eyes. I sigh and I calm myself down and smile at Posy so she knows I forgive her, before walking inside. Vick raises an eyebrow when he sees my wet shirt.

"What happened to you?" he asks curiously and I wave him off. I pour the water into the pitcher and quickly wash my face and hands. I walk into the front of the house and open the door. I hear footsteps and I watch as my mother walks towards me,

"Rory! Not so fast, you haven't combed your hair yet!"

"Ma, please! It looks _fine_! Please can I just go? I was supposed to be there like an hour ago!" Ma walks up to me and finger-combs my hair, and I roll my eyes, she nods her head and motions for me to go. I kiss her on the cheek and quickly shout goodbye as I run out the door. I slow to a walk as I near the square.

People are everywhere and they look happier than they've looked in years. Little kids run around screaming and laughing with candy in their hands. Adults and some of the older kids are standing in groups talking with each other. I straighten my shirt and re-tuck the end of it into my pants and I make my way over to where the dancing is. As I walk some people stop to look curiously at my wet shirt and I try to ignore them.

The Square is lit up with strings of yellow, pink, orange and yellow lights, giving it a warm glow. All the shops are closed and to my left and right there are these big tables lined up against the shops that are filled with platters of food and cups of different drinks.

I stand there awestruck; I've never seen anything so beautiful. In the center of the Square people are dancing and clapping to the music. There's a man playing the fiddle and someone on guitar and there's even a keyboard which no doubt, is compliments of the Capitol, and they are playing a really up-beat, peppy song. In front of the musicians are two microphone stands but no one is using them right now.

Suddenly everyone starts cheering and whistling, I strain to see over the heads of other people and see that Katniss and Peeta have just stepped onto the dance floor and are starting to dance. The musicians automatically change songs, a more mellow song. Couples step out onto the dance floor one after another and soon the dance floor is full.

I walk around and try to find Prim, I spot her with two other girls from school and she's hanging in the background staring off into space while the other two flirt shamelessly with some older guys. I make my way over to Prim and I smile,

"Beautiful isn't it?" I say by way of greeting. Prim jumps a little, startled by my sudden appearance but she beams when she sees it's me.

"Yeah, it is, it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." She says wistfully and tucks a piece of hair behind her ear.

I sigh, not as beautiful as you Primrose, I think to myself. Then Prim blushes and looks at me, then at the ground.

Oh _man,_ did I say that, _out loud_?

She looks at me with those stunning blue eyes, "You really think so?" she asks timidly. I nod, flushing bright red,

"Y-yeah, I do-o." I stammer out.

Okay I'm just gonna go die in a hole now, please someone kill me now.

Prim blushes even more and returns her gaze to the night sky, which is now a dark midnight blue, with thousands of stars shinning across it. I walk towards one of the tables filled with food and I help myself to several things that look to be chocolate-covered strawberries. I take a bite; it's without a doubt the best thing I've ever eaten. I've only had a strawberry a handful of times, whenever Gale was able to spare some from being sold, and I've never had chocolate, but it tastes pretty amazing. I eat at least four more strawberries and I stuff a fifth one in my mouth.

"Rory!"

Someone loudly shouts my name in my ear, causing me to jump in surprise and start to choke on the strawberry. I turn and see Prim standing there with her hand covering her mouth. I pound my fist against my chest and manage to cough the strawberry up and it lands on one of Prim's shoes.

"Oh I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have sneaked up on you like that! Are you okay?" Prim asks, with concern written all over her face. I manage to nod my head, but don't say anything to her because I'm still coughing. Prim disappears and in a flash she's back with a cup of dark red liquid in her hand. She gives it to me and I take a sip. It tastes really fruity, and amazing. I drain the whole cup and I finally stop coughing.

"Thank you Prim. What was that stuff anyway?"

Prim gets a thoughtful look on her face, "I think someone called it, 'fruit punch.' It's one of those fancy drinks from the Capitol." I smile; they have all sorts of weird things at the Capitol. I look at Prim then scan the couples on the dance floor dancing to another slow song and see Gale dancing with some girl. He sees me and waves, I wave back.

I could ask her to dance now. Nervously I look at Prim again, _come on Rory_, one dance, just one dance.

I open my mouth to ask her when Peeta walks over and holds out a hand. "Primrose, may I have this dance? Katniss isn't much of a dancer and insisted that you were much better, so I've come to find out for myself." Prim laughs, a beautiful bell-like sound, and places her hand in Peeta's and curtseys.

"I would be honored Peeta!" She says and he leads her out to the dance floor and the two of them twirl across the floor. The tempo kicks up and they start dancing faster, Prim throws her head back and laughs.

Jealousy twinges in me as I watch them; that could be me out there, laughing and dancing with Prim. But instead I'm standing here by the tables watching. I make up my mind, I will ask Prim to dance when the next song starts.

I walk with purpose to the edge of the dance floor and wait for the song to stop. A minute later it does and I walk towards Primrose and I clear my throat. She turns around and stares at me with those beautiful eyes and blushes a little. "Um... Hi, Prim. I was wondering… Do you want to, uh…dance with me?" I say half mumbling.

Prim blushes more and she smiles brightly at me. "I would _love _to dance with you Rory." As if on cue a slow song starts and the singers take the stage, holding their microphones and begin to sing as the musicians play. I take Prim's hand and lead her to the middle of the floor and put my hands on her hips and she hesitantly wraps her arms around my neck and we sway side-to-side, not really dancing, but holding each other close. After a minute Prim relaxes some and rests her head on my shoulder and I close my eyes and concentrate on the lyrics.

_I finally asked you to dance on the last slow song_

_Beneath that moon that was really a disco ball_

_I can still feel my head on your shoulder_

_And hoping that song would never be over_

I open my eyes and look down at Prim and she smiles shyly at me. I smile back and take one of her hands in mine leaving the other around my neck still, and I intertwine my fingers with hers.

_I haven't seen you in ages_

_Sometimes I find myself wondering where you are_

_For me you'll always be eighteen and beautiful_

_And dancing away with my heart_

_I brushed your curls back so I could see your eyes_

_And the way you moved me was like you were reading my mind_

_I can still feel you lean in to kiss me_

_I can't help but wonder if you ever miss me_

I look up at the sky briefly and I feel something fall on my face, a raindrop.

No! It can't rain now!

Not while me and Prim are dancing! But the rain keeps coming, Prim opens her eyes and blinks in surprise, I let go of her hand and start to back away, sure that she'll want to get out of the rain. Prim grabs my hand and looks at me pleadingly,

"Please don't stop. I'm having such a good time. Rain won't hurt us." I grin and I take her back in my arms and we continue to dance, this time for real. I recall some simple steps to a dance known as the Waltz and I begin to twirl Prim around in the rain as the song continues.

_I haven't seen you in ages_

_Sometimes I find myself wondering where you are_

_For me you'll always be eighteen and beautiful_

_And dancing away with my heart_

The song stops as I twirl Prim out of my arms then back into them and she stops with her forehead leaning against mine, her lashes with raindrops clinging to them. I brush some of her now wet hair out of her eyes and her eyes flicker from my eyes to my mouth. Without thinking about it I lean forward and kiss Prim in the pouring rain.

Me, kissing Primrose Everdeen, the girl of my dreams.

I can hear some people from the crowd "aww" and someone, probably Gale, gives a loud whoop. I pull away from Prim and look into her dazzling eyes. She smiles and quickly looks away blushing. I put my arm around her waist and whisper in her ear, "We should probably get out of the rain unless you want to continue dancing."

Prim looks up at me and smiles again, "I would very much like to keep dancing with you Rory."

So that's what we did, me and the girl of my dreams danced the night away in the pouring rain. Of course the next day we both had terrible colds, but it was worth it. I'll always remember that night as the night Primrose Everdeen danced away with my heart.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2! This is also not new; this is combined from the beginnings of two chapters from the old story. But nevertheless, enjoy it **

A Time to Heal

_I share a cabin with Gale now, on the edge of the Seam close to where the Everdeen's used to live. It works out just fine for the two of us, I leave him alone and he leaves me alone. We both suffer in silence, mourning for the girl we love but can't have._

_At least Katniss is still alive, but she's with another guy, Peeta. You would think that Gale's happy that Katniss is alive and happy but, come to think of it if Prim was alive and with some other guy, I think I'd rather be dead. I imagine that's probably what Gale feels like now._

_Prim._

_My heart, my mind and my soul all ache for her._

_Her name is like my blood; it pulses through my veins and keeps me alive and going. I'm seventeen years old, almost eighteen, too young to have known such heartache and pain. But that's just life._

_Gale opens the door and walks inside our small house. He sees me sitting down at the table and nods. He takes off his coat and hangs it on a peg by the door then sits down across from me. "How are you?" He asks and looks at me. I smile weakly at him,_

_"About the same as I was yesterday."_

_We sit there in silence for a couple minutes and I look up at him again. "Does it ever go away? This pain, does it go away? The pain hasn't receded at all. Some mornings it's impossible to even get out of bed. I just wish she was still here…" I know I'm rambling now, but I don't really care. I just need to get it off my chest._

_"Sometimes I wish I was dead too. I wonder if it would be easier if I was dead. Would the pain stop? Or would it still be there, haunting me?"_

_Gale stands up and looks at me hard. "I know it still hurts, but you can't keep living like this Rory. It's been three years. Your seventeen, you have your whole life ahead of you. You need to try to move on, I'm not saying you need to act happy all the time and start dating, but you need to stop looking like you're going to die. Ma is worried sick about you Rory; can't you see it's killing her to see you like this?" he says with an edge in his voice._

_I get up silently, grab my coat and walk out the door without another word. It's Friday, so that means school. I technically don't have to go to school, but I have nothing else to do, unless of course, I want to sign up for a job in the mines or some other job. See, now at least we aren't forced to work in the mines, we can look for jobs elsewhere in the District, that is, as long as we have enough people down in the mines because we still have to have some people down there._

_I walk into the school building and several kids stop to stare at me. I don't really have any friends anymore. Everyone stays away from me now like I'm so kind of disease, I don't exactly blame them though. I haven't been the friendliest person ever, over the past couple years._

_I sigh and continue walking down the halls to my classroom. School used to be the place I would go to escape from reality. In school I could almost forget what a messed up world we lived in and the fact that my family and others were starving, or that the Hunger Games existed. I used to look forward to going to school, mostly so I could see Prim and spend time with her._

_Just one more year, I tell myself. Then I can get a job and I can be rid of this building. Without the laughter and friends, the school is just a brick building. A place I waste seven hours of my day at, every day._

_After a couple of weeks the teacher's learned to just leave me alone. They used to call on me and ask me to answer the questions, they figured out pretty quickly I wasn't going to be a useful student. Now they just automatically skip over my name in the roll call, never bothering to call out my name. I am a ghost._

_A ghost who saunters down the halls, unseen and ignored by others._

_I sigh in relief as the lunch bell rings. I take a deep breath and I walk outside behind my school building at lunch time and I just lay down in the dying grass and I look up at the sky._

_Prim and I used to come to this spot almost every day during lunch, and stare up at the sky, and find shapes in the clouds._

_Now it's just me._

_I don't bother to eat my lunch, I'm not hungry. A couple feet to my left there's a puddle, I lean over it and I look at my reflection in the murky water._

_I don't even recognize the person looking back at me, the person in the water doesn't look anything like me, he looks worn and tired, with worry and stress lines etched deep into his young face._

_Angrily I find the nearest pebble and I throw it as hard as I can into the puddle, and I watch as the reflection disappears. On days like this I get angry; angry that Prim left me here alone._

_I have no one left. No one understands how I really feel, except maybe Haymitch. I laugh bitterly; of course the only person I could really talk to would be that drunken man._

_I've considered several times going to see him but each time I talked myself out of it. I know that he lost someone he cared about a long time ago, to the Capitol._

_The Capitol took everything away from lots of people. Haymitch was no exception. Maybe if I can talk to him it'll make me feel better. Well, I doubt anything he'll say will help me feel better, but surely it'll feel good to talk to someone who understands, won't it?_

_I make my decision, I stand up and walk away from the school building towards the Victor's Village and brave myself for the smell. I walk up the steps and open the door, not bothering to knock. My eyes begin to water from the stench and I resist the urge to cover my nose with my hand. I find the man slumped over in a chair, with a bottle and a knife in his hand._

_"Uh… Haymitch? Hello?" He doesn't even stir. I don't want to go over there and shake him because there is a very good possibility that he'll stab me. I look around the room for other options and I see a small decorative pillow lying on the ground, I pick it up and I throw it as hard as I can at Haymitch's face._

_"Uh?! What the-!" Haymitch instantly wakes up and looks around the room, when his eyes land on me his bloodshot eyes narrow and he sits up straighter and puts the knife down on the table._

_"Can't a man get some sleep around here?" He grumbles and I just stand there awkwardly, well, now he's awake and I have no clue what I'm gonna say. Haymitch scratches his pudgy stomach and stares at me expectantly._

_"Well? Spit it out."_

_I open my mouth to say something but it snaps shut. How did he know I was here to talk? He laughs drunkenly and takes a swig from his bottle, draining it of alcohol. He throws the now-empty bottle at the wall, I jump at the unexpected noise and the bottle shatters into fragments. Haymitch turns and looks at me; then gestures to a chair, which I sit in. It's a nice velvet chair with wooden armrests; I clench the armrests with my hands to keep me from standing up and leaving._

_"Life is full of unsuspected problems and complications, boy. Just somethin' you'll have to get used too. I know why you're here boy; to talk about that girl of yours that you lost 'couple of years back, right?" I nod wordlessly and stare at the man,_

_"She wasn't just some girl," I murmur, "She was the best thing that ever happened to me, my whole life. Now she's gone. The Capitol took her from me." I spit out the last words and my clenched fist slams into the nice wooden armrests, my hand throbs but I don't care._

_"You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself boy, and move on. You ain't the only one who's lost someone important to them. Your hurt, you're angry and you're grieving for her. How long has it been?" He asks me,_

_"Four years." My voice cracks and I have to pinch myself in the leg to keep the tears at bay; it would not help at all to start bawling like a baby in front of Haymitch. I force myself to look at him, and I see all the sorrow and pain clouded in his grey eyes, he runs a hand through his unkempt hair and sighs._

_"Four years, huh? Don't ya think it's about time to stop your grieving and get on with life? You can't live this way, boy. You keep on grieving and being angry and you'll end up like me. A drunken slob with no one left, not even a family." He stops and laughs bitterly, I can tell he hates what he's become, I don't blame him; I can't imagine how miserable he is._

_"Don't throw away your family to nurse this hurt, you hear me? 'Cuz if you do your gonna wake up one day and you won't have any family left. Just like that." He snaps his fingers for emphasis, well he attempts to snap, but he's too drunk to have good use of his motor skills._

_I let what he said sink in; I feel a mix of emotions. Anger, sorrow, confusion, and most of all: shame. Shame for what I've been doing to myself, to my family. I never really thought my being sad and depressed would affect anyone else but me, because I figured no one but me would truly understand what I've been feeling these past four years. My poor ma, I can't imagine how hard it must've been for her to see her son like this. I stand up and run out the door,_

_"You're welcome, boy!" I hear Haymitch's slurry voice call after me._

_I race away from the Victor's village towards the seam, towards my house, -my old house, I mean, - and start calling for her before I even round the bend, "Ma! Ma!" I see her head peak out the window with a concerned look on her face, when she sees me running she quickly runs to the door and opens it and I run into my mother's arms and begin to sob, letting out the tears I had held back. I realize crying is almost never manly, and it certainly isn't a manly thing to do in front of girls or ladies, but I figured that just this one time I could let it slide._

_"Rory! What's the matter did something happen to Gale? Or at school?" I hear the concern in her voice, and shock. No doubt my sudden and somewhat-dramatic appearance made her assume something had happened._

_"Nothing's wrong ma. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, Ma. I kept on pushing you, - all of you, - away, when you were only trying to help me." My ma loosens her hold on me and she looks at me, I can see all the signs of age creeping into her face; the wrinkles and creases around her eyes and the worry lines on her forehead. Ma kisses my forehead and smiles a bit at me; I can see she had started crying a bit too, slightly embarrassed I roughly wipe away the tears from my face._

_"It's okay Rory; I knew it was going to take some time for you to come around. I was getting so worried; I was beginning to think you weren't going to ever start healing." I nod and I run a hand through my hair. From somewhere inside I hear a kettle screaming, and Ma hurries back inside._

_"Rory, come inside will you? Can you stay for dinner tonight?" She calls to me from the kitchen. I walk inside and shake my head,_

_"Not tonight Ma, I need some thinking time. I'll stop by again tomorrow." Ma smiles again and she leaves the small stove to hug me again and she returns her attention to whatever is on the stove. I walk out of the house and start to walk back to the cabin, with my hands stuffed into my pockets. Hopefully things will start to get better; now that I've started to come to terms with everything that's happened._

_"I'm sorry Prim. I know you must hate to see me like this from up there. I'll try to do better, I promise. I love you, forever."_

**Thank you for your continued support! It is much appreciated! ~ iheartbooks4ever**


	4. Chapter 3

**I'm getting a pretty good start on this! Rory and Prim's first date! Also not a new chapter, it's just in a different spot **

I'll Never Forget (Between the end of HG and the beginning of CF)

The last bell of the day rings and I jump out of my chair and run out of the door. This past week has been the best week of my life. Prim and I have spent almost every day together. We walk to school together and we eat our lunch outside together. As I'm looking around for Prim, I'm hoping that my day will get _a lot _better, because I've finally worked up the nerve to ask Prim out on a date. When I spot her coming down the hall I feel an incredibly huge grin spread across my face and I wave to her. Prim sees me and smiles shyly, without thinking I run up to her and I grab her hand and I run out of the school with her outside.

Prim laughs breathlessly as we come to a stop, and she looks at me with her blue eyes sparkling and her cheeks slightly flushed. "What was that all about Rory?"

I find myself smiling even bigger, "I wanted to talk to you, alone. So I had to get you out of the school." Prim smiles again and I start to get a bit nervous. You can do this Rory; all you have to do is ask her a question. That's it, just one little question, surely you're able to ask her a question, right? Prim looks at me expectantly and my eyes drop to the ground and I spot a couple dandelions growing in the ground. An idea pops into my head, I look back at Prim and tell her to close her eyes, she giggles but she does what I ask.

I bend down and pick a dandelion and I stand back up. I take a step closer to Primrose and she starts to open her eyes as I tuck back a stray piece of hair behind her ear and I place the dandelion behind her ear also. Prim's eyes follow my movement as I let my hand drop and I step back a bit so I can see her face better. "Primrose Everdeen, you are beautiful and amazing and I love spending time with you. Will you please, _please _go out with me on a…um..." Just then Prim takes her hand and brings it up and rests it on my cheek and I lose my train of thought. Great. I stand there fumbling, trying to remember what I was going to say. Oh! I remember now!

"Will you go out with me on a…um… activity!" An activity? Wow, I have some amazing vocabulary skills. Prim smiles wider and starts laughing. This is just _great_! Now she's laughing at me…

"Rory," She says in between laughs, "I would _love _to go out with you. You are so sweet." I stand there in shock, I'm pretty sure my mouth is hanging open. I'm glad Gale isn't here right now, he would die laughing.

"Little brother! Might wanna keep your mouth shut, unless you wanna catch some flies!" Well speak of the devil. I turn my head to the side and sure enough I see Gale walking by, with a huge, stupid grin on his stupid, ugly face. I glare at him, which makes him laugh. I watch as he walks towards Prim, who is now blushing, and he stops right next to her.

"Primrose, make sure he doesn't eat too many sweets." Gale looks at me and smiles wickedly then drops his voice to a whisper, "He can get kind of crazy, especially around girls, if you know what I mean." Primrose blushes terribly and she looks at me, and I know she remembers. If my mouth wasn't hanging open before, then it sure is hanging open now. I can't believe Gale just said that. You're probably wondering what I'm talking about. I'll tell you.

The year I turned six my mom invited the Everdeen's over to celebrate. Katniss and Gale had gone together and got a small bag of candy for all the kids. Let's just say I got a little, um, hyper with the candy and right as the Everdeen's were about to leave I ran up and kissed Primrose right on the mouth. I didn't think Primrose would remember, and I'm terribly embarrassed that she does. I look at Gale,

"Okay, time for you to leave! Go!" I say as I walk up behind him and shove him. Gale laughs as he walks off and I stand there fuming. Leave it to Gale to ruin the moment. I feel a hand on my shoulder and I turn around to look at Prim.

"So, Rory, about this 'activity'… What day were you thinking about?" She smiles at me and almost instantly I forget why I was angry.

"Oh, yeah… Well, actually, I was kind of hoping that we could go out tonight." I say and I can see the excitement in her eyes.

"Really? That sounds great! What time?" She says excitedly, and I smile at her excitement.

"Um…how does 6 sound? I'll come by your house then." Just then I hear Katniss yelling for Prim in the distance and Prim gets a look of disappointment on her face.

"Okay, thank you Rory! I have to go now, but I'll see you at 6!" She yells over her shoulder as she runs in the direction of home.

"Yes!" I whisper to myself, I shove my hands in my pocket and I start walking home, with a grin on my face. My mind is racing; I can't believe this is happening. I've had this night planned out for days; hopefully everything will go as planned. Four hours until I see Prim.

*Two hours later*

"Rory! Come _on_! You've been in there forever!" Vick yells as he pounds on the bathroom door. I look in the mirror again. I've combed my hair and changed into my nice clothes, tonight will be perfect.

"I have not been in here forever Vick! Only like…45 minutes!" I yell back as I open the door and Vick shoots me a dirty look before shoving me out of the way and slamming the door shut. I go to the front of the house and I sit down on the small couch and wait.

Ma comes in the front door and smiles when she sees me. I told her about my date with Prim when I came home, well, more like confirmed it, because apparently Gale had yelled it as soon as he walked in the door earlier. "I see your all ready for your date… you _do _realize that you have two hours until 8 o'clock, right?" I nod, and she smiles as she shakes her head as she wanders into the kitchen to start dinner. I stand up and walk back into my room and I lie down on my bed and stare at the ceiling. Five minutes pass, then ten. Then of all things… I fall asleep.

I wake up to someone jumping on me. "Rory! Wake up now! Your late for your date!" Posy yells at me and I sit straight up and jump out of bed. Crap, crap, _crap_! I run towards the living room, stopping to pop my head into the bathroom and check out my reflection. I look at the clock when I reach the living room, 6:15. Dang it! Why does this kind of thing always happen to me! I re-tuck my shirt into my pants and I run out the door. I run down the street and around the corner to the Everdeen's house. I take a deep breath and I run my fingers through my hair trying to straighten it out. And that's how Prim finds me.

I drop my hands by my side and I look up at her and the breath is knocked out of me. Primrose looks… amazing. She's wearing a light-pink dress and her hair is braided back, with the end of the braid resting over her shoulder. I notice that she has a primrose pinned in her hair, along with a dandelion. I smile at her as she walks over to me and I take her hand. "Prim, I'm sorry..." I don't get to finish my sentence because Prim kisses me softly then. After a moment I kiss her back tenderly and she pulls away and looks at me.

"Don't apologize Rory, its fine, you're here now, and that's all that matters." Primrose is the most perfect girl ever. I smile again and nod, I take her hand and we start walking, away from all the houses towards the fence. I push away a log and some branches and reveal a rather large hole in the fence.

"Rory," Prim whispers with wide eyes as she clutches my arm, "Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise. Just hold onto me, you'll be fine." I whisper reassuringly and she gives me a small smile. I listen for the buzz of the fence, like Gale taught me too and I'm relieved when I don't hear it. I go through the hole backwards, facing Prim and I gently tug on her arm and after a moment's hesitation she follows me. Once she's through the fence I reach my arm through the hole and place the log and the branches back in place, effectively hiding the entrance to the woods. Still holding her hand I walk over behind a tree and hold up a lantern that I had hidden there before I went home after school. I light the lantern with a match I brought with me in my pocket and I hold it out in front of me as we continue to walk. It's not dark out yet, and I plan to be out of the woods before it gets dark, but you never know if you'll need some light.

Prim stays close to my side and clutches onto my arm, I can tell she's a bit nervous being in the woods. "Don't worry Prim, your safe with me. Nothing's going to happen to you, I promise." Prim smiles at me gratefully and we keep on walking and we start to talk. (What I don't tell Prim is that I have a knife hidden in my back pocket in the extreme case that some kind of animal should decide to follow us.)

After a half hour of walking through the woods, laughing and talking we arrive at the lake. Prim's eyes widen and her mouth forms a soft, pink _O. _I smile at her reaction. I set the lantern down on a rock and reach behind yet another tree for a basket that I've filled with some food and a cloth to set on the ground, we are going to have a lakeside picnic. "Rory…this is…_amazing_! And sooo sweet! Thank you, so much."

I lie the blanket down over the grass and I set the basket down and start to take out the food as Primrose sits down across from me, with a dreamy look on her face. I look at her, "Your welcome." I take out two plates and I place a bowl of black berries, a small loaf of bread, two sandwiches and a thermos full of ice water on the blanket.

"I know it's not much…but it's the best I could do." I say rather sheepishly and I run my fingers through my hair.

Prim has a most sincere look on her face as she leans closer and puts her hand over mine. "Rory, this is perfect. Honestly, this is the best day ever."

After we eat Prim goes to the lake's edge to wash her hands while I put away the remains of our picnic. I place the basket at the foot of the rock that our lantern is resting on and I join Prim at the edge of the water. I stick my hands in the water and wash them. Then, out of nowhere I'm splashed with water. I turn towards Prim with my eyebrow raised in question, Prim sits there in the grass innocently running her hands through the water with a small smile playing on her lips. "Prim…did you just _splash_ me?" I ask, unable to keep a grin off my face.

She looks at me, trying her best to keep a straight face. "Me? Splash you? Nope…it was just a hand spasm… sorry."

"Uh huh... A hand spasm? Yeah okay. Oh, and _this_," I say as splash some water in her direction , "Is an _arm _spasm." Prim smiles at me, somewhat evilly, and cups her hands and fills them with water. I watch as she lunges towards me and dumps the water on my head. I laugh and follow her lead, walking towards her with water in my cupped hands. Prim is standing right on the edge of the water, if she were to back up half an inch she would be touching the water.

"Rory! Don't you _dare_!" She says in between fits of laughter and she tries to run away from me. I lunge for her and I trip over a rock, and the water in my hands soaks the bottom of Prims dress and I land face first in the water. Almost all of me from the waist up is soaked. Prim steps forward, laughing a bit and offers me her hand to help me up. Instead of grabbing her hand, I close my hand around her wrist. Prim's eyes widen a fraction of an inch as she realizes what I'm about to do. I tug on her wrist and she falls into the water beside me.

"Rory Hawthorne! Was this really necessary? Now I'm soaking wet!"

Prim frowns a bit, but makes no move to get out of the water. I look at her, trying to decide if she's really upset with me or if this is one of her evil plans. I slide over closer to her, trying to ignore the fact that now my pants are wet, and turn her so she faces me, "I'm sorry Prim." She looks at me with those beautiful blue eyes.

"I'm sorry too," she says and before I have time to comprehend what she means she puts her hands on my shoulders and with all her strength she shoves me under the water. When I surface she looks like she's going to die laughing.

I shake my head, "Primrose Everdeen, who knew you could be so _evil_?" She smiles sweetly at me,

"I know…I'm sorry."

I roll my eyes and I reach over and pull her into my arms, "You don't sound very sorry…but, apology accepted." We sit there like that for a minute in the water, with her back up against my chest and my arms wrapped around her. Eventually I stand up, I offer Prim my hand and she stands up too and we walk out of the lake. I go over to the rock and pick up the basket and the lantern with one hand, then I go over to the spot where the blanket is spread on the ground and I pick the blanket up. I walk up behind Primrose, who is currently wringing some water out of the bottom of her dress, and I drape the blanket over her shoulders.

"Thank you," She says softly and she reaches over and takes the basket from me and holds it in her right hand, with her free hand she grabs onto my hand and holds on tightly as we leave the spot of our first date and begin the short trek through the woods. Unlike on the way to the lake, this time we are both silent, taking in the eerie beauty of the woods in the dimming daylight and listening to the crickets and frogs sing.

When we reach Prim's house she slowly lets go of my hand and starts to walk towards the door, but I gently grab her wrist and pull her back to me. She watches me as I take a step towards her, and I press my lips against her and I kiss her goodnight. My hands go to her hair, and my fingers tangle themselves in the roots of her hair, pulling her face even closer as she kisses me back. After a moment I pull away and we smile at each other. Prim goes to take the blanket off her shoulders but I stop her, "Take it, I don't need it. You can give it back to me some other time."

Prim nods and she walks up to the door with one hand on the doorknob and bites her lip a little. "Thank you for tonight Rory, I had a really great time. Goodnight. " Then she opens the door and she disappears inside the house, the door closes behind her.

"Goodnight," I whisper even though she can't hear me anymore and I turn around and take my time walking back home, playing tonight over and over again in my head. I know tonight will be a night I'll never forget.

**I love this chapter **** this is one of my favorites! Review please! And let me know what you think!**


	5. Chapter 4

**New chapter... read on my friends :)**

Moving on

_It's been about a week since I visited Haymitch. Since then I've tried to be better about being more…friendly I guess. Right now I'm over at my Ma's house. True to my word I've tried to stop by about every other day for a couple hours and I spend some time with my family. Sometimes even Gale will stop by to talk with us. I never realized until I started spending time with my family again how much I had missed them. I'm grateful for my family, especially my Ma, always being here for me when I need her. Things are starting to get a bit better, I feel more happy. But I still have a long way to go before I could ever be truly happy again and move on._

_"Rory? Are you listening?" My head snaps up and I look at my ma and smile sheepishly; I hear Posy giggle and I turn towards her and stick my tongue out, which makes her giggle even more. Posy just turned 9, which is hard to believe. I can remember when Ma called us all in to her room and told us that we had a new little sister. Boy was it something strange, there were three of us boys, we were used to rough-housing and having mud wars outside. But girls are, how did Ma put it… "Delicate creatures". I smile at the memory, and I laugh softly to myself, "delicate creatures"… nothing could describe Prim more. Well, she was delicate on the outside but let me tell you, if you got her mad enough you could tell that Katniss wasn't the only one who got their father's fire._

_"Sorry, what did you say ma?" Ma smiles and shakes her head at me and repeats her question._

_"I asked if you were planning on coming to the Mellark's tonight, for little Bracken's birthday party." Katniss and Peeta have two kids right now, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Katniss may be pregnant again. Aster is three years old; she is an adorably charming little girl, with her mother's hair and her father's eyes. Bracken is having his first birthday tonight, he has blonde hair and gray eyes and he loves to laugh._

_"Yeah, of course I'm gonna come. You think I'd miss out on another one of Peeta's cakes?" Everyone laughs and I smile a bit. I look up at the old battered clock on the wall and I stand up slowly._

_"I'm going to go take a walk. I'll see you guys at the party." I walk over and I hug my Ma and Posy. I turn to Vick, who is now 14 (almost 15) and I hold my fist out and he fist-bumps me. I say one last goodbye to them and I walk out the door and down the street._

_After several minutes of walking I reach the edge of the Seam. My family still lives in the Seam, as you can tell. They were one of the first families that came back to 12, Katniss offered to give them her house since she was going to live with Peeta in his house, but my Ma insisted that they didn't need to. Even though all of the houses in the Seam were knocked down, she went right to work on building a new, slightly bigger house right where the old one used to be, Peeta and I helped her. They did stay in Katniss' house for a short time while the house was being built, but as soon as the house was finished they moved right in._

_I approach the edge of the forest. When 12 got bombed the fence was knocked over, I was one of the people who helped knock it over. Eventually it was taken down; now all that's left are a couple fence posts, to serve as a boundary of sorts, so people know when they are entering the woods. I walk among the trees and I let a sense of peace over take me. After about 30 minutes of hiking through the forest I've reached my destination: Prim's lake. Well, it's not actually called that, I don't know it's real name, if anything it's Katniss' lake, because this was the lake her father took her too._

_You're probably wondering how the heck I know where this lake is. Well, when the Quarter Quell rolled around Gale started sneaking the two of us into the woods where he began to teach me, he had to get away, he couldn't stand watching Katniss in the arena for a second time, it nearly killed him the first time. I had only gotten three or four lessons from him when Katniss blew up the arena, as you can imagine that caused some problems. It caused problems that lead to District 12 being bombed. Since then I've become pretty skilled in hunting and trapping._

_One time he took me to the lake to practice, but that wasn't the first time I'd been there. The first time had been during the 74th Hunger Games, Gale took me into the woods with him to show me where all the snares he'd set were. At this time he hadn't taught me anything about hunting, he didn't really want to but he figured it'd be good if I at least knew where all the weapons and snares were so if nothing else, I could get all the animals he's caught from the snares on some days. After we finished with the snares Gale took me on a hike and surprised me by taking me to the lake._

_The next time I went back to the lake was with Prim, on our first date. It's a beautiful little lake, Prim loved it. I spend a couple hours at the lake and then I walk back into town._

_Evening falls and true to my word I attend little Bracken's birthday party. It's a night full of laughter and fun, and good food. After a couple hours I call it a night, I say goodnight to everyone and I ruffle the birthday boy's hair on my way to the door. "Goodnight Rory, thanks for coming!" Peeta shouts as I walk out down the street. Tonight was nice; it's been a while since I've been around anyone but my family. As expected, Peeta had really out-done himself tonight, the cake was three tiers with blue frosting and different animals were carefully frosted on. I laugh softly at the memory of little Bracken attempting to eat his piece of cake; I think he had frosting on every part of his body except his mouth._

_I haven't laughed as much as I laughed tonight in a long time, it felt good. I smile as I think of Aster, what a little trouble maker, Peeta and Katniss have their hands full with her. At some point she started throwing cake and everyone had frosting on them._

_I walk into the front door of the cabin and Gale looks up from his chair. "So, how was it?" He asks and I shrug as I take my coat off and hang it up._

_"It was nice. You should've seen the look on Katniss' face when I gave Aster and Bracken a little bag of candy, it was priceless. I thought she was going to kill me for a second." I tell him and I take a seat on the couch. The corners of Gale's mouth turn up,_

_"That sounds like Catnip alright." Then he gets this spaced out look in his eyes and I know that he's remembering back when Katniss and him were hunting partners, the good old days he calls them. I know from experience that he tends to space out like that for a while, so I stand up and go back to my room and shut the door._

**Please review! If you have any one-shot suggestions, please let me know!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Okay! I've made some more decisions. The chapters with present-day Rory (17yrs) will be in italics. I'm afraid if I don't that I'll deeply confuse people, if I haven't already. So the chapters that are regular (like this one) , are the one-shots that take place during the book. Also, I was going to try and post the one-shots in order (i.e. one-shots that take place in the first book would be posted before the ones in CF or MJ) but I figured that if I did that, that would lead to me constantly moving chapters about.**

**Yeah... that would be both frustrating and annoying. So from now on I will post the one-shots as I finish them in whatever order, I will put what book it takes place in after the title **** Thank you all so much!**

Bombing of 12 (Catching Fire)

Screams and the sound of dozens of running feet fill my ears. I push a lady through the hole in the fence and she runs into the woods with fear shadowing her grey seam eyes. "Go now! Into the woods! Come on!" I yell, motioning to the frightened townspeople behind me. They don't seem to hear me; they all wear the same horrified expressions as they point at the sky. People are everywhere. How can Gale expect to get everyone out in time?

My eyes flicker to the western sky, where a formation of Capitol aircraft is rapidly approaching our District. Chaos is all around me, people are running left and right carrying belongings and supplies. Babies and young kids are crying loudly at the utter confusion.

They are coming to destroy us, the Capitol is about to do what they've always wanted to do. Just hours ago Katniss blew up the force field in the arena in the Quarter Quell. People were frantic, wondering what would happen now. Gale was coming back from giving out food to the people of the Seam (courtesy of the pantry of Katniss' Victor house) less than an hour ago when we started hearing the rumble. A strange, thunder-like noise, yet there was not a cloud in the sky. Gale knew that it could only be something, or someone from the Capitol coming to punish us for Katniss' deed.

Even though he didn't know what exactly was coming for us he knew it couldn't be good. Over the last 15 minutes Gale and a team of people he's formed, have been corralling everyone who would heed his warning and go under the fence into the woods.

Once we get everyone we can in the woods Gale is taking us to the meadow, a place he's told me about but never taken me. I've helped close to one hundred people through the fence; Gale has probably helped around the same number another break in the fence, so have Ma and Prim. They have been helping more people at a third location. Three hundred people seems like a lot, until you realize there is more than 10 times that number living in our District.

"We are running out of time! You need to come now!" I yell into the chaos helplessly. Why can't they understand that they need to move!

Adrenaline pumps through my veins as the aircraft get closer, you can see them now, I think there are five of them, but it's hard to tell. They look like birds from this far away if you didn't know any better, although a flock of flying birds doesn't sound like thunder.

I look back at the town desperately; there are still so many people. So many people who don't deserve to die, and there's not enough time to save them all. A hand touches my shoulder, I almost yell at the person to go under the fence already, until I turn around and see Prim standing there with a grim expression on her face.

"Rory," She yells above the roar of the aircraft, "We need to go. Gale says if we don't leave now we won't make it to the meadow in time." In anguish I look back at the town, at the place I've lived my whole life and I think about all the people who aren't going to make it. Prim puts her hand on mine, and looks at me; I can see her blue eyes shining with unshed tears.

"Okay," I say in defeat, I start to step through but I stop. Instead I back up and ram myself into the fence, it shakes but it doesn't waver. I slam myself against the posts repeatedly, Prim joins me along with a couple other people from the Seam, in a few minutes a large section of the fence topples over with a thud that's lost in the noise from the ever-approaching aircraft. I look over my shoulder once more, noticing that the people holding up the fence have already abandoned their posts and they follow my lead and start to knock down sections of the fence. I take Prim's hand and turn my back on my District and I run.

Up ahead Gale shouts out directions over the noise of weeping women and screaming children. Looking around I see my estimate was off, there are easily 800 people here. 800 scared people. We run for what seems like ages, never stopping and never looking back. By some stroke of luck we reach a green, peaceful place I can only imagine is the Meadow, when an awful, thunderous crash stops us in our tracks.

Everyone stops and looks at one another with terrified expressions. A couple seconds pass; we stand there in dead silence, not sure what is going to happen next when the ground shakes with a tremendous boom. The faint sounds of screaming and pleas for help are carried to our ears. More bombs are dropped rapid fire, the sound is almost deafening. Looking around me here in the woods is like watching a silent movie. You can see what is happening, but it's going in slow motion, with no color, and you can't change the ending no matter how badly you want too.

All at once the colors and sounds come speeding back to me, people run deeper into the forest, retreating from the ominous black smoke that is now billowing up into the sky. A man breaks away from the group, "No! They can't do this to us!" He begins to run back towards the District where people lie dead, and those who are alive are burning and dying of smoke inhalation. I look over at Prim, who is shaking with sobs. I take her in my arms and hold her silently, at this point all words have left me; I have nothing left to say.

Gale raises his voice, "No! It's no use! You can't save them! You'll die before you can help anyone else." The man falters and looks at my brother with hatred flaming in his eyes,

"At least I can die trying. I won't run away like the rest of you cowards." He spits out and he takes off into the woods towards the fence.

My eyes meet Gale's, and never in my life have I seen my older brother look so helpless. I've never felt so helpless before. Where will we go now? We can't go back to our homes; soon they will be piles of rubble and ash on the ground. I find Prim's mother in the crowds of people and Mrs. Everdeen takes her daughter into her arms. Once I make sure Prim will be okay, I leave the Everdeen's and I walk over to my brother.

"Where will we go now Gale? We can't stay here; we can't go anywhere even if there was somewhere to go. We have 800 people, and virtually no food, and whatever weapons you and Katniss have hidden out here. We can't keep this many people alive with a quiver full of arrows." I say quietly, he stops and looks at me, throwing his hand up in the air,

"I don't know Rory! But we'll find a way, we have to. I won't have their lives on my hand Rory. I won't be responsible for the deaths of these innocent people." We stand in silence amidst the noise of hopeless and helpless people. Gale grabs my shoulders and I look at him,

"Before the Quell Katniss came to me," he starts, whispering urgently to me, "She wanted to run away." I look at him bewildered, run? "She wanted to take off in the woods. I said I would go with her, then I found out she wanted to take Haymitch and Peeta with her and we started to argue."

He stops for a moment and swallows, "She blurted out that there is an uprising in 8. She tried to take it back, but it was too late. I was convinced that we should, that we could start one here. Katniss was adamant; she wanted to leave before the Capitol moved in and started killing us off. She was right." The muscles in his face tighten and he looks off to the side. It's hard for him to admit that he was wrong; I find it hard to believe myself.

Gale doesn't give up, he just rethinks. "She was right," he repeats, "We should have gone, then none of this would've happened, and she would still be here," He whispers. "With me." In that moment I realize just how much my brother loves Katniss.

I open my mouth to say something, anything, to try and comfort him, but I'm at a loss for words. Prim comes running over, "Rory, we can't stay here much longer, the people are getting more and more panicked by the second. We have to move them away." Looking into her eyes I see fear and uncertainty clouding them.

I lay my hand on Gale's shoulder for a couple seconds, unsure what else to say or do and I walk away with Prim. "What are we going to do Rory? We have nowhere to go." she whispers softly to me, gripping my arm with both of her hands tightly.

I stop and I look at her, "Survive, that's all we can do for now." She nods and she lets go of my arm to go assist her mother in caring for those who were injured either from escaping the District or on the run into the woods. I begin going around to people and telling them we need to start moving. I gently try to calm their nerves and point out the way we are going, but it's hard to comfort and reassure others when you are just as scared as them.

Several others, including Gale, jump in and help me get the people moving in the right direction. After 15 minutes everyone is walking deeper into the woods away from the ash-darkened skies. Gale comes up to me and hands me a bow and a quiver full of arrows which I swing over my shoulder grimly. Up until several days ago I had almost no experience with weapons—especially not with archery—but Gale couldn't bear to watch the Quell and for two days straight me and him snuck out into the woods and he started teaching me.

"The lake, we are going to the lake, think you can remember how to find it?" He says gruffly, and I nod, and he leaves. I take point at the front of the group with Prim by my side and Gale stays all the way at the back of the group and we start towards the lake. We get there a few hours before the sun sets, normally it would not take that long, but when you are traveling with 800 people—which includes small children, pregnant women and elderly folk—it takes way longer.

Mothers send their children to look for sticks and twigs and they start to build fires to keep themselves warm. That night the people of District 12 fall asleep under a broad, bright, canopy of twinkling stars and the orchestra of crickets and other singing bugs.

Over the next two days Gale gathers groups of able-bodied men and if they don't know how to hunt and gather already, he teaches them the basics and then pairs/groups them with someone who does. He divides the tools and weapons that we have: two sets of bows and arrows, one fishing net and one hunting knife. Some men use sharp rocks to sharpen the ends of long sticks and they wade into the lake and try their best to spear a fish or two. My time is spent helping Gale keep order and helping Prim and her mother, who have set up a small medical center to treat anyone who is injured.

Much to our surprise we've had five people join us. The man who ran back in the beginning was successful: he brought back his son and three other people. Their bodies were covered in burns and they coughed from the smoke they had inhaled.

As I wake up I stretch and look around, today is the third day we've been here at the lake. I can hear children laughing as they play along the bank of the lake—they've all but forgotten the tragic events of the past couple days. Some women are cooking squirrels or fish on a stick over a fire, but most just sit and worry about the future. I stand up and go over to Prim to see if there are any herbs or plants she needs me to gather, our conversation is interrupted by the sound of frantic running.

A hunting party breaks through the brush with panicked expressions on their faces, "There's a…a hovercraft….coming this way…" one of them huffs out. My eyes lock with Gale's immediately, who was teaching several people how to set snares, we share the same thought, how did they find us?

It could only be the Capitol, who else would it be. It's like the bombing all over again, mothers scoop up their children and start screaming. Some people grab whatever they'd managed to grab from their original escape from the district. All the sudden the hovercraft is there: right above us. I suck in a breath and my eyes freeze on the hugeness of it. I've never seen one this close. I'm prepared to grab Prim and run when a soft, kind, woman's voice from the inside of the craft speaks, stopping everyone.

"Citizens of District 12, my name is Brisa Macon, and we've come to evacuate you to District 13." A wave of confusion goes through everyone. District 13? Wasn't it destroyed? I look at Gale, he looks like he doesn't trust them just yet. "In a few short minutes the hovercraft will lower ladders down to you and you will board the hovercraft. We promise that you will feel at home in District 13, where there is enough living space for everyone, a school for the children and plenty of food for everyone: three meals a day." Some people gasp, most people in the Seam only have two meals a day. I feel my stomach growl. Gale stands on top of a large rock and turns his face up towards the craft,

"How do we know we can trust you?" He shouts, and by some miracle Brisa hears him, when she speaks again I can tell she's smiling from the tone of her voice.

"Gale Hawthorne is it? Katniss told us you might present quite the challenge. I can assure you that we are, in fact, from District 13, not the Capitol."

"Katniss?" Gale yells, "What do you know about her? Where is she?" By a way of answer a silver parachute is dropped from the craft right in front of Gale. After a moment's hesitation he opens it. I push throw the crowd until I am standing on the ground behind him. I climb up beside him and I see that he holds a small device with a screen. On its screen is Katniss, it's from the Quarter Quell right before she blows up the force field. The video plays, showing the chaos that ensues afterwards. Gale and I watch the two hovercrafts appear in the arena: the rebels and the Capitol. We watch in silence as the rebels grab an unconscious Katniss and we watch a group of peacekeepers knocks Peeta out and drag him and two others up into their hovercraft.

"Okay," Gale says and the hovercraft lowers itself to the ground, but doesn't land since there isn't enough room, and several ladders fall to the ground. I look up the ladder where a large door has opened and the figure of someone—a girl—is standing in the doorway. The people look around at each other, trying to figure out who will be the first to go up. I look at Gale and he nods. I jump off the rock and head over to the nearest ladder. Prim appears by my side and I smile at her. I begin climbing up the ladder—which is surprisingly very sturdy—and she starts up the ladder next to me.

Soon I find myself at the top of the ladder and I haul myself up into the metal hover craft. I reach down and help Prim up, and as I look down I see more people climbing up and lines of people forming behind the ladders, waiting for their turn. Soon over half of the people are aboard the craft, and there isn't much room left. "We'll have to get another hovercraft here," I say to Prim and she nods. A woman I can only assume is Brisa steps into view,

"Already arranged. It will be here with in the next five minutes." She says. Brisa is a kind looking woman; she has shoulder-length chocolate brown hair and light brown eyes. She smiles at Prim and I and Prim smiles back. Sure enough a second craft appears and soon everyone is loaded up, Gale is the last one up. From the door of the other hovercraft he smiles reassuringly at me right before the doors close. Minutes later a dull roar from the hovercraft's engine is heard, several people exclaim and we are off.

I find an empty place on the floor to sit with Prim and she rests her head against my chest with a sigh of relief. It's over, we're safe.

**I would very much appreciate some input on the new direction this story is taking. Other than that, I hope you enjoyed this! I really enjoyed writing this one-shot, I've always wanted to know more about the bombing of 12, so I just decided to fill in some of the blanks myself. **

**Not exactly sure when the next chapter will be up, the next week or two I'll be busy with practicing with the Fine Arts group at my school for a competition early in Feb. But I already have several ideas, so don't worry, I promise not to disappear off the face of the earth…. For now…. **** muahahaha :D**


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